CHA rebrands as Association for Creative Industries
The Craft & Hobby Association announced this week at the Creativation 2017 Conference & Trade Show that it is rebranding as the Association for Creative Industries, effective immediately.
Association for Creative Industries logo
The rebranding to AFCI (as the Association for Creative Industries will largely be known) was created over the past year by a task force consisting of members of the Association's Board of Directors and the assistance of consultants from Verse Group, a strategic research and creative branding firm. In addition to the new name, the task force created a new vision and future plan for the Association that was the result of research, interviews, and membership surveys.
"Our rebranding coincides with our vision of a healthy, vibrant and innovative community that enriches people's lives through crafting and other creative activities," says Mark Hill, Chief Executive Officer and President, AFCI. "Our new name is the beginning of AFCI serving as the leading advocate, information resource, research partner, and friend for our thousands of global member companies. It was intentional for our new name to incorporate 'For' because everything we do and strive for is FOR our members."
The first visible signs of the new AFCI branding are the Association's logo and new website. The colorful logo is described in the announcement as "based on the role of AFCI as the heart of creativity", and incorporates the same marbled rainbow of color as the recently unveiled Creativation logo.
The Craft & Hobby Association has increasingly struggled to find membership, along with exhibitors and attendees for its shows, since the decline of the papercrafts bubble in recent years. Removing the outdated "hobby" (which is a relic of the long ago time that model cars and other such items were seen at the show) from the Association's name, and replacing "craft" with the broader "Creative Industries" is an attempt for AFCI to claim craft segments such as sewing and fine art under its tent. How much interest these industry segments, which already have their own dedicated associations and events, will show in the newly incarnated Association for Creative Industries is yet to be seen. Several major sewing companies, such as Coats & Clark and Prym Dritz, did exhibit at Creativation 2017.
